Feast of Christ the King: How the Liturgical Year Ends

I love that the liturgical year ends with the Feast of Christ the King! The feast has only been in the Church calendar since 1925 when Pope Pius XI created it as a response to the rising tide of secularism. What a gift to the Church! Just think, we begin the liturgical year with preparation for the baby King's arrival in poverty and weakness and end with the celebration of Christ in all His glory and majesty. This year is especially poignant as the feast comes the day after the feast of Blessed Miguel Pro, martyr of Mexico, who died with arms outstretched like Jesus on the cross, proclaiming "Viva Cristo Rey!" Long live Christ the King! As this liturgical year ends, so does the year of faith. What fruits have come from this amazing year? Many firsts: the first pope named Francis, the first pope from the "new world," the first Jesuit pope. Did you have any firsts in your life this year?

The Vortex: A Clear Explanation of What's Wrong with the BSA "Gay" Policy

Michael Voris is totally on target again! There is no way the BSA can be "neutral" on the gay question now that they have welcomed openly gay scouts into the fold. By so doing they have made it clear that those with same-sex attraction are no different than those whose attractions are ordered by the natural law. That is a lie and all the young men will be learning it either directly if the issue comes up during a meeting or indirectly. If any scout dares to say that gay activity is wrong, he will be seen as bullying.

Silence can be a sin of omission. Children will be learning that, in the face of evil, silence is good and "tolerance" is better. But "tolerance" is not a Christian virtue. More often, it leads to tolerance of evil. Look at our "tolerance" of abortion. How many millions of babies have died under that wicked banner! Send tolerance back to hell where it came from.

The real Christian virtue is hospitality which requires us to be kind, even to our enemies. In fact, the word hospitality has a connotation of a relationship with an enemy. Hospitality and hostile have the same root. Interesting isn't it? Chesterton gets into that very issue in The Ball and the Cross and a popular Chestertonian aphorism is "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." The next time someone calls you "intolerant" tell him he's absolutely right and then quote Chesterton to him. Some things are worth fighting over.

Sunday Meditation: The Unkindness of Friends

I was reflecting today about those who really have the power to hurt us. It isn't strangers, goodness knows. Most of us couldn't care less about what they think. But when someone close to us, a family member or someone we thought of as a friend, hurts us, says cutting or unkind words or judges us in the most negative light...well, that's when words cut like a knife. And that's when relationships break down sometimes never to be mended.

How often do we say mean things to someone, sometimes in front of others which adds to the humiliation. How often do we feel justified because we believe our assessment is the true one?

For the rest of Advent I want to keep close guard over my tongue and examine my conscience to see where I have used that "little member" to hurt instead of heal. God gave us the gift of speech to uplift and build up the body of Christ. May we never use it like St. James warns as "a restless evil, full of deadly poison." One of the first obligations of the Christian is control over the tongue. God help us if we fail in that and use our tongue instead to see "how great a fire it kindles."

Barbarian Bullies on the Internet

I rarely censor a comment. But when somebody personally attacks an author and throws in obscenities to boot...prudence dictates stuffing a sock in the foul-mouthed bully's mouth. Which is what I did by hitting the delete button on a comment on Alice Doyle's article on the tragic story about the young boy who committed suicide. (See here.)

It's ironic that somebody would comment on an article about bullying by employing all the tactics of a bully himself: insults, obscenities, threats, intimidation, wishes that evil will befall the person, etc. ad nauseum.  There are plenty of bullies out there on the internet. Alice's article, which is also posted at SperoForum.com has received lots of negative attention from people who think an argument consists of insults and four letter words. It's easy to do when you hide in the dark behind an anonymous moniker. No doubt if they could throw physical stones as well, they would.

The fact is they are barbarians. If they had to the intelligence to make a reasonable argument, presumably they would. People can disagree without being uncivil, but we live in barbaric times when bullies reign at even the highest levels of government and society. The answer for Christians is to face the bullies covered head to foot in the armour of God, with truth as the belt around their waists, justice as their breastplates, faith as a shield, and the sword of the spirit, the word of God. And the first thing Christians on the internet should do is pray before setting fingers to the keyboard. Then we will be more likely to respond, to the best of our ability with charity -- even to the biggest bullies on the block.

Got Hope? No? Check out this blog!

Despite all the bad news, I find myself filled with hope these days. Why? Because generations X and Y (the birth ages my kids fall into) are picking up the sword of the spirit, the word of God and fighting for the faith. Here's one delightful example, a blog started by my daughter-in-law Martina and a group of her Catholic Facebook Friends. The blog, Catholic Sistas, has numerous contributors, most Catholic mothers of young families.

They understand social media and are using it to spread the good news. They know how to network for good. They remind me of all the communities St. Paul wrote to wrapped up in one and joined electronically. Their blog covers all things Catholic. You find women celebrating big families and some mourning over infertility and child loss. They share serious issues and just for fun stuff. Some home school, some are working moms. They ask for prayer and they offer perspectives on faith issues. And they do it all with such style. The blog only started a few weeks ago and already they have had 5600 visitors, many leaving comments. What a wonderful support group these ladies are for each other and for women in the Church. They reflect the dignity of women Pope John Paul II talked about in his encyclical.

 

I am so proud of all my children who have unique gifts and talents that they use so well. And I'm proud of my younger, much younger, "sistas" in the Lord who I know will touch many minds and hearts through their on-line friendships.

 

Do yourself a favor and go mingle with the sistas awhile. It will renew your hope and lighten your heart.

On Modesty

This post was inspired by one at Creative Minority Report about "America's next top role model." I recommend it.

Modesty is something most people don't think about. If an outfit is considered fashionable, they wear it. A few years ago I had a conversation with a young adult about her clothing. She was on the way to Mass by the way. But she was wearing ripped jeans, the kind you buy that are pre-ripped. I mean the kind you pay big bucks for that are ripped and shredded and look like they were retrieved from a trash can at the Salvation Army. But the pricetag is usually hefty. Go figure!

My comment to the young lady was, "I honestly don't understand that fashion statement." She looked back at me in my skirt and jacket, stockings and heels and replied, a little snippily, "I don't understand your fashion statement either." Now this young person happens to be someone I love very much. If she had been a stranger I wouldn't have said anything. Why should a stranger care about my opinion? But I truly don't understand someone I thought had common sense, being taken in by a fashion industry that sells clothing that would likely be rejected by a hobo (except kids dressing up for Halloween). I wonder if she would blacken her face with burnt cork if Revlon sold it as the latest look.

Generally when I talk about modesty I'm referring to clothing that is too revealing or provocative. And that certainly is a more serious issue. When clothing draws attention to a woman's breasts or her crotch there is clearly a sexual message that can be a temptation and occasion of sin to young men. The same for men in tight jeans and speedo swim suits. If little is left to the imagination, the clothing is immodest. What is its purpose except an invitation to lust. It's also unappealing to see someone, man or woman, bend over and show a bare buttox. We used to have a standing joke at our house about the "dishwasher repair man" whose low slung pants covered little when he bent over. And women's hip-hugging, low slung jeans make many look like dishwasher apprentices.

But there is something also immodest about ripped and shredded clothing especially when the holes and tears are positioned to draw attention to the upper thighs.

Which brings me to the question of exactly what is modesty? It's more than avoiding too much cleavage. It's also about not drawing attention to oneself by bizarre and outrageous clothing, tattoos, spiked purple hair, body piercings, etc. Modesty doesn't thrust itself into the limelight or demand attention. It doesn't have a loud and shrill voice. Modesty is the companion of humility and the guardian of chastity. It's a beautiful virtue that is too little evident in our vain and hedonistic culture.

Modesty doesn't refuse to engage the other in conversation, but speaks gently and never uses vulgarity. Modesty never swears or curses. Modesty has clean eyes, those eyes which are the windows of the soul. And all the clothing and jewelry and makeup is selected to draw attention to those windows and give the other a glimpse into the sanctuary within. Modesty is one of the most unappreciated and unpracticed of the virtues, but what a blessing it is to the one who discovers or rediscovers it.